lower front with s10 chassis swap

[wibas]

As I move forward with my 1952 Gmc with s10 chassis. I have body on and motor with trans in. I now want to lower the front end 1 to 1.5 inches. Has anybody done this like cutting coil springs? What are the pro's and con's?

[joedoh]

just buy spindles, 2 inch drop, no need for shorter shocks. I have cut coils in the past in fact I just did it on my roller chassis but only to make the front end easier to assemble.

[Layedoutsonoma91]

Best for your situation is drop spindles, wont change the way the truck rides either.

[fredscarryall]

I used to work at a drop shop. I have cut lots of coil springs on s10s. If you only want to reach a 1 to 1.5 inch drop. You can't loose anything cutting coils. It's a lot cheaper but can be a lot of trial and error because I usually start by cutting about 1/2 coil spring on each side. Put it together, check the height ,take it back apart and cut 1/4 coil spring if it's close.then put it back together. I have had to do this 4 of 5 time to get to where I want the ride height. There is no real set way to know how many coils to cut. Seem like gm has different tension rates on coil springs for s10 depending on the year and also depends on how many miles the truck has?just make sure the engine,front sheet metal, cab and bed are on to get an accurate height. Since you are going static up front I am a assuming you are going static in the rear with blocks. I would drop the rear were you want it first. Because if you have the back end up it will make the front look lower. I alway pop the bottom ball joint. Just make sure you remove the castle nut,flip it and screw it on a few threads so you don't damage the nut or ball joint threads.this also stop the coil from flying across the garage because it stops it from popping out all the way.and hit the side flange with a good med sledge hammer till it pops. I have had to hit some once and some 10 times.If you use a pickle for it will damage the rubber around the ball joint. Chances are you will ruin the ball joint anyway because they are almost always worn out. If you are only going 1 to 1.5 inches you shouldnt have to get shorter shocks. But if you go anymore you will. About how it rides. Some people like it and some people don't. Seemed to make the front a little more bouncy at times. But we usually took care of that with a good kyb shock.at the same time because its lower to the ground.it rode nicer then stock because there is less body roll.When I was dropping trucks we cut coils.drop spindle where just coming out and to costly at the time,that is all we had. So you where kinda forced to like the ride. I bought drop spindle through eBay for about $130. It's way easier and doesn't mess with your ride quality. I don't want to insult you.i don't know your ability or if you have done this before. This certainly is not the only way to do this. But it worked for me for years. Hope you can find some of this helpful in you decision.

[mr48chev]

Fredscarryall just gave one of the best answers I have ever seen on here.

I've run a lot of vehicles lowered with cut coils over the past 50 years and never had an issue with them except when the State Patrol officer decided my truck was too low.

As far as ride quality none of them rode any rougher than my Cad DTS does on 17 inch rims as that thing tells you where every change in the road surface is. If you are going to run big rims and rubber band tires dropped spindles are probably a lot better. 15's 60 or 70 series tires and cut coils are fine as far as ride goes.

[HUSSEY]

Any good rule of thumb on inches of drop per coil cut.

[joedoh]

one coil has always been about 2 inches for me

I also always taper the end of the cut to sit better in the spring pocket